Twelve Years
by MarieAtRice
Summary: A Jounin woman mysteriously reappears in Konoha after a twelveyear absence and joins the current generation of ninjas in the LeafSound War. Eventual Kakashi x OC. Chp 7: The LeafSound war picks up again after a brief lull.
1. Chapter 1: Sensei

Hi, everyone. This is my first fanfic, though it is far, far removed from my first attempt at writing fiction, so I hope you won't find the prose too dysfunctional or poorly contrived. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this fic. I'll do my best to update regularly, but I am a full-time college student, you know. In any case, reviews (from brimstone-flames to worshipping-praises) are welcome.

Disclaimer: Of course Naruto is not mine. Otherwise I would have a lot more money.

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Chapter 1: Sensei

* * *

I opened my eyes, sucking air into my lungs as if I had been holding my breath for ages. I sat up slowly, still regulating my breathing, dried leaves falling off my face and chest as I moved. My eyes carefully scanned my surroundings: a tall tree stretched above me, its brothers all around me, and my bed a clump of rough grass.

I could not remember how I had gotten here – wherever here was – and the more I tried to think back, the more the answer faded, slipping away like a dream I could not quite recollect.

A sigh escaped my lips as I stood, knowing I would gain no knowledge by remaining where I was. My limbs were tight and they protested with loud pops as I took a step forward. My hand drifted up to the Konoha forehead protector tied securely around my head. The cold, engraved steel against my fingers gave me a small sense of relief.

My legs lurched forward, seeming to know instinctively in which direction Konoha lay.

* * *

Three long days had passed by the time the carved faces of the four Hokages loomed into my view. I quickened my walking pace; despite my hunger and lack of sleep, I suddenly felt a strength in my wearied limbs at the sight of my home.

Four ANBU guards, their masks lowered, approached me as I reached the towering village gate. "Who are you?" the tallest man asked me.

"Magone Keika," I answered, my eyes narrowing at the cold welcome.

"She's not one of ours. Take her to Hokage-sama," the ANBU guard ordered as two of his companions moved forward to seize my arms. "She could be a Sound-nin spy." I did not struggle against the men, a combined result of my fatigue, surprise, and confusion.

A moment later, the gate had disappeared to be replaced by the familiar entrance to the Hokage's office and a large puff of smoke from the transmitting jutsu. One of the ANBU entered the office then returned a moment later, beckoning to us. When I was brought into the next room my eyes widened at seeing Tsunade sitting at the large desk. "Where is the Hokage?" I asked her, suddenly getting a sickening, twisting feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Tsunade's mouth parted as she stared at me. After a long moment of tense silence, she spoke, her voice breaking slightly. "Where have you been?"

My confusion grew at her question. "Tsunade, I don't know what you mean. Please, where is Yondaime?" I felt one of the ANBU guards holding my arms shift uneasily, his eyes narrowing behind his mask as he watched me.

A flash of pain crossed Tsunade's eyes and then she said in a quiet voice, "He is dead. He has been for many years."

My knees buckled and I would have collapsed save for the strong arms of the ANBU guards who had, in an instant, gone from my watchmen to my caretakers.

_Dead. Yondaime is dead._

"How is that possible?" My voice came out in a strangled whisper.

Tsunade walked around her desk to me, her eyes compassionate and soft. "Keika, where have you been? What happened?"

I forced her echoing words of death to the back of my mind and answered her question, continuing to wrack my brain for memories. "I don't remember exactly. I know there was something about the Kyuubi… I just don't know."

"That's the last you remember?" she asked, her words coming out more quickly and urgently.

"I…" I hung my head, knowing it was the most I could recall. "Yes."

Tsunade sighed and nodded. "Leave us," she said to the ANBU guards and then coming forward to take my arm and lead me to a chair. The guards released me, bowed to Tsunade, then left the room.

I sat down in the chair and Tsunade pulled another forward to sit with me.

"When you said that Yondaime is… dead," I said quietly, looking at her, "how long has it been?"

"Over twelve years," she answered, watching me carefully. "You had been presumed dead all that time, too."

I shut my eyes for a moment. "Tell me what happened," I said, looking at her again.

"We sent out a group of elite Jounins to act as a decoy while Yondaime prepared to use his new forbidden jutsu on the Kyuubi," Tusnade said, speaking quietly and deliberately. "You were among those Jounin. Nearly half of them perished that day and most of their bodies were not found." She crossed her legs and leaned back in her chair. "Yondaime's jutsu was successful; the Kyuubi was sealed inside Naruto, though the act cost the Fourth his life."

I frowned, watching her. "And Sarutobi, as well?" I did not understand how the woman before me had become the Hokage.

"Not then," Tsunade shook her head. "He died quite recently."

I waited but it was clear she was done speaking on the subject. "So," I said, closing my eyes briefly, "how old is Naruto now?"

"He is nearly thirteen," Tsunade replied quietly.

_So Yondaime has been dead for twelve years,_ I thought, bowing my head. _And I have also been gone all this time._ I opened my eyes and turned my eyes to Tsunade. "What now?" I whispered.

Tsunade leaned forward and gently laid her hand on my knee. "We must find out what has happened to you in these past twelve years. I am going to assign you to a Jounin sensei to see what you recall of your genjutsu, taijutsu, and ninjutsu." I opened my mouth to protest, but she continued speaking. "Keika, this is not meant to belittle you; I just want to be assured that whatever has happened to you has not deteriorated your skills or caused you to develop any strange new abilities of which we should know."

It made sense. No one, of course, had any idea where I had been all this time. My head bobbed in a single nod of acceptance.

"Good," Tsunade said, standing. She walked to her desk, wrote a brief message, and sealed it in an envelope. I stood and approached her as she wrote an address on the outside of the envelope. "Go to this place and give it to the Jounin who lives there," she told me as she gave me the paper and returned to the work on her desk. "I'm sorry to push you out, Keika, but I must return to work."

I bowed and walked from the room, closing the door silently behind myself and looking down at the front of the envelope. I blinked in surprise; it was my house's address. _Who is living in my— _I wondered, then shook my head. If it really had been twelve years since my absence, of course someone else would have moved in. Konoha had always been short on housing.

I eventually arrived at the familiar front porch and stood, hesitating, on the doorstep a long moment before I knocked on the door. I heard a rustle of movement inside, approaching footsteps, then a slight creak as the door swung open.

Standing before me was a man about my height with a mask covering his face up to his nose, his Konoha forehead protector tilted so it covered an eye, and a shock of silver hair springing from his head. I stared at him a moment, remembering a student of Yondaime's who had looked much the same. "Kakashi?" I asked, my eyes wide.

His one visible eye narrowed as I spoke, then it widened. "Keika-Sensei?"

"You've grown," I blurted, staring at him. He wore the same Jounin uniform as I did; although I had not seen him since he was a teenager, the clothing suited him, this man before me.

His jaw twitched under his mask. His visible eye rapidly changed from surprised to amused at my comment, then quizzical. "Where have you been?" He asked. "I thought you were…" Now his eye showed suspicion.

"Dead?" I finished for him. At his nod, I sighed. "It's a long story, one I don't even know how to tell; perhaps Tsuade said something about it. This letter is for you," I told him, handing him the nearly-forgotten envelope.

He took it with a gloved hand, his eye on it for a long moment. "Uh, come on in," he said with slight unease, looking back up at me.

I nodded and stepped past him into the house. I walked to the nearby couch, my eyes surveying the room that had been transformed into a bachelor's apartment in my absence. It actually wasn't that different from the way it had been when I had lived here; a shinobi had little time to spend at home.

Kakashi fairly sprawled in the chair beside the couch, opening the envelope and unfolding the letter to read it. I watched his visible eye scan it several times before it returned to my face. "So… I'm your Jounin Sensei," he said with a humorless smirk detectable behind his mask. "Now do you care to explain what happened?" Though the inflection of his voice raised at the end of his sentence, it was clearly more of a command than a question.

I nodded and related the combined story of what I remembered and what Tsunade had told me. He watched me impassively the whole time, sitting unmovingly on the chair. "So basically," he said in his lazy voice after I had finished, "you've been miraculously raised from the dead, though you remember very little of whatever hell you were in in the meantime. And so now I'm supposed to see how much Ninjutsu you can still perform – without straining you too much, yet making sure you realize your full potential."

"Yes, something like that," I said with a small smirk. "Surely Yondaime's best student can manage that."

"I'll see what I can do," he said with a nonchalant shrug. "In the meantime, you should get some rest. As I recall this was your house, right? Since I've abducted it, I guess you'll be needing a place to stay."

"So I will," I smiled, liking this man before me. Though he was clearly confident of himself, he showed nothing of that insufferable arrogance he had maintained as a child.

He smirked and stood from his lazy position in the chair. "Well, I guess you know where the guest room is. If you need anything, I'm not exactly the most attentive of hosts, but I'll do what I can."

"It's appreciated, Kakashi," I nodded with a smile and stood. I walked to the guest room door and opened it.

"'Night, Sensei," I heard him call before disappearing into his own room and flipping off the light switch to the main room.

I laughed quietly and closed the door behind myself.


	2. Chapter 2: A Sea of Troubles

Update: As always, any kind of review is appreciated, even flames. It's all a learning experience for me; I want to become a better writer. So even if it's nitpicky stuff, please let me know. Also, reviews are the only way I know if anyone's reading the story. Anyway, here's the second chapter. Just to warn you, there are spoilers here, so be careful, especially if you haven't gotten to the Chuunin exam yet.

Disclaimer: Of course Naruto is not mine. Otherwise I would have a lot more money. Magone Keika, however, is a character of my own creation.

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Chapter 2: A Sea of Troubles

* * *

I squinted as sunlight streamed in through the window, a bright beam falling on my poorly placed pillow. My eyes opened and looked to the bedside table where agreen glow dimly read "7:24." I sighed, exasperated with my internal alarm clock that had always plagued me, and I rolled over, burying my face in the pillow.

I lay prostrate for a several minutes, trying to will myself back to sleep. Suddenly, I heard movement outside my door: footsteps walking back and forth. There was the sound of something being slid under the door into my room, and then the opening and closing of the front door. Finally there was only silence.

My curiosity overwhelming my desire to sleep, I sat up, rubbing my eyes and yawing, looking towards the door. A piece of white paper had been halfway pushed into my room, starkly contrasting with the dark wooden floorboards.

I sat up, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed. I winced as my feet met the cold, hard floor, but pushed myself to standing anyway. I stumbled to the door on weary and stiff legs, bending over to pick up the paper. It read:

_Sensei- _

_I have somewhere I need to be right now, but I'll meet you on the bridge at 9:00am to start your training. _

–_K_

I looked at the alarm clock again. "7:32" now. I sighed and pulled on my clothes, walking into the small bathroom to brush my teeth, pull my hair back, and tie my forehead protector into place. I took a moment to inspect myself in the mirror. I still appeared to be twenty-five years old. My green eyes were just as bright as ever and my long, black hair had not lost any of its luster. I certainly did not look twelve years older than the last time I had looked at my reflection. However, seeing Kakashi as a full-grown man had forced me discard any doubts that the long and unfelt time had not actually passed.

I cooked a sparse breakfast for myself and stepped out of the apartment and into the street.

I spent the next hour wandering around Konoha. I had not been able to tell yesterday from the transmitting jutsu, but I saw now that the village was in horrible condition. Some buildings were completely reduced to rubble while others had skeletal scaffolding running up their sides for repairs. A horrible battle had clearly been recently fought in the city and the villagers were still struggling to recover from all the damage.

I arrived on the bridge at five minutes until 9:00 and I leaned against the railing, looking out.

Two hours later found me sitting uncomfortably and grumpily against the bridge's railing, trying not to nod off while still waiting for Kakashi.

"Yo."

I lifted my head to see the cheerful silver-haired Jounin raising one hand in greeting.

"You're late," I growled.

"I know, but you see, I was drowning in a sea of troubles and—"

I cut him off with my snappish tone. "I'm not some Genin who will jump when you command it, Kakashi." I stood, my hands on my hips, a glower on my face. "I expect you to arrive when you say you'll arrive."

"Ah, but it is a part of my charm, that I am always fashionably late," he said, his one eye showing amusement.

That amusement just provoked me even more. "I see nothing charming or fashionable about this," I growled and stalked towards him.

"Now now, calm down, sensei," he grinned to me. "You shouldn't get so riled up. You won't be able to fight properly if you're clouded by anger."

"Shut up," I grunted, knowing he was right, which only served to make me angrier. We walked together in silence that became less and less strained until we reached the grassy and woodsy area near the heroes' monument.

"Okay, well I thought we'd just stick to taijutsu today," Kakashi told me.

"Good, I can't wait to feel my fist connect with your flesh," I smirked, though our earlier argument was mostly forgotten by now.

He seemed to understand, however, thatdespite my playful tone, I was completely intent on solidly beating this man before me. He nodded seriously then walked several paces and turned to face me.

I wasted no time and darted forward, my hands clenching into fists. My movements were slightly more sluggish than I had remembered, but just as powerful.

I swung my right fist in a tight arc at Kakashi and he blocked it with his left arm, just as my other arm came down for a low punch.

He twisted his body out of the way and danced back from me. His lazily hooded eye regarded me a moment before he took the offensive and came running forward.

His leg swung up in a kick and my hand shot down to grab his ankle just as my other arm came up to block a punch. I growled, realizing he had forced me into a vulnerable position. His free hand came forward through the maze of arms and legs in a punch aimed directly for my stomach.

I released his ankle and brought my hand down just in time to block his punch.

We continued with a series of blows, kicks, punches, concealment, and traps well after 1:00. Though he had been holding back in the beginning, by the end of the session, I had regained almost all of my former strength and I met him blow for blow.

Kakashi and I rested, sitting beside each other at the base of a tree, regaining our breath. Several minutes later, he rolled his head towards me, his lazily hooded eye surveying me calmly. "Up for some lunch?"

"Sure," I nodded, standing up and dusting myself off. He rose beside me and began walking back towards the town, his hands stuffed in his pockets. I hurried to catch up, my strides long to keep in step with him, despite the absence of much of a difference in our heights.

My stomach was growling loudly several minutes later. "You gonna make it back to the apartment?" Kakashi winked – or perhaps it was a blink; who could tell? "Maybe we should just stop along the way. You a ramen fan?"

I smiled. "Yes, that sounds good." My stomach made a concurring noise.

Kakashi smirked and led us to the nearby ramen shop that still had a bit of their lunch crowd. We sat in a booth in the back, him facing the window, me the door. A woman came to take our orders and assured us it would be only a few minutes before our food was ready.

"So, Kakashi," I said as we waited, turning my eyes on him, "what happened to the village? There was obviously a fight pretty recently."

"Yes, you're right," Kakashi nodded. "You remember Orochimaru, I'm sure." At my grimace, he continued. "He has become a problem of late. He has organized a group of ninjas under the and set up his own hidden village: Sound."

My eyes narrowed. "The ANBU said something about that yesterday. They said I might be a Sound-nin spy. I had no idea what they were talking about."

"Yeah, well, neither would I a few months ago," he said, shaking his head. "Konoha was hosting a Chuunin exam in which all of my Genin were participating. During the third test, though, Orochimaru's men acted. Most of the damage you see around the city was caused by his giant summoned snakes. However, the most devastating damage to the village was the death of the Third. Orochimaru had posed as the Kazekage, putting Sarutobi into a vulnerable position. Not even the ANBU there could do anything about it."

I watched him, saddened by the story, but remaining silent. He continued: "Orochimaru defeated the Third, but at the cost of his arms.Sarutobi used the Fourth's forbidden sealing jutsu to prevent him from being able to create any seals."

"Yondaime…. Naruto…" I said quietly, thinking on the last time the technique had been used.

Kakashi nodded. "Well, Orochimaru is still at large now. In about two or three years, I believe he'll become active again."

"Why wait so long?" I asked. "If he has already hurt Leaf that much, you would think he'd jump at the opportunity to attack us again."

The waitress returned with two steaming bowls of ramen, setting them in front of us.

I snapped my chopsticks apart and immediately began eating, looking to Kakashi for a response. He, however, was watching his bowl of ramen uncomfortably. I was about to ask what was wrong when I realized he likely did not want to reveal his face to me or the rest of the restaurant.

I smiled slightly and moved to sit beside him and turning my head to the door, keeping him out of my line of vision.

I heard a small chuckle of appreciation and the rustle of fabric, then the slurp of the noodles beside me. I did not turn back to look at him but kept my eyes glued to the door.

"Orochimaru has a forbidden jutsu of his own," Kakashi began speaking again around slurps. "He has been stealing bodies to keep himself immortal. The body he desires, though, will not beavailable for him for another two or three years."

"Do you know who it is?" I asked him. "Are they under protection?"

He was silent for a long time and I nearly looked over at him to make sure he was alright, before remembering he likely still had his mask lowered. However, he finally spoke. "Yes. We know who it is. He is in Orochimaru's possession now. Under his own will." I could sense great pain behind his voice, so I did not press the matter further.

I heard his wooden chopsticks clank against the bowl and the rustle of fabric again. "Well… are you done eating?" he asked, drawing my eyes to him. His mask was back in place, a small smile evident under it.

"Yes, though I don't have any money to help you pay," I said apologetically.

"Ah, it's fine, I did steal your house, after all," he grinned.

"True," I nodded and stood as he fished through his pockets for money to leave on the table.

Suddenly, I heard someone call out, "Has anyone seen Hatake Kakashi?" Both the owner of that name and I looked to the voice. A young, pink-haired girl stood in the doorway, her green eyes searching the restaurant.

"Sakura?" Kakashi asked, looking at her. "What is it?"

The girl smiled happily when she saw him. "Kakashi-sensei." But then her face sobered. "Tsunade-sama wants to see you immediately in her office."

Kakashi sighed and nodded. "Alright, well… let's go, then."

* * *

Thanks for the review, whiterose03 The answer to your question was in this chapter. I hope you keep reading! I'll try to update as often as possible, hopefully about once a week. And the story should get more exciting once I start delving into the Leaf-Sound war. Also, Keika's long absence from Konoha will be explained eventually. 


	3. Chapter 3: Two Days

Update: Just so you all know, I will be out of town with little to no access to a computer from March 6 - 11, 2005. Therefore, there will be no updates or posts during that time. Hopefully I'll be able to write a lot on the plane rides, though, and have something for you to read when I return. I'm sure you'll live in the meantime :)

Disclaimer: Of course Naruto is not mine. Otherwise I would have a lot more money. Magone Keika, however, is a character of my own creation.

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Chapter 3: Two Days

* * *

The pink-haired girl Kakashi had called Sakura knocked on the door then pushed it open, stepping inside. Tsunade was in the exact same place she had been in a day ago: behind her desk sorting through papers. However, now there was a fevered and hurried movement to her hands. She did not look up as we entered.

We stood in the doorway for several strained moments, waiting for Tsunade to acknowledge us. Finally Sakura cleared her throat. "Tsunade-sama?"

The Hokage looked up and smiled at the girl. "Sakura," she said in greeting. He eyes traveled to the silver-haired Jounin beside me. "Kakashi." Her tone was now strictly professional. "Come here, we need to talk." She gave a businesslike nod to me as Kakashi and I approached. "Hello, Keika, I assume our faithful copy-nin is taking good care of you."

I gave a smile and sat in a chair next to Kakashi across the desk from Tsunade.

"Scouts are reporting," she said, turning her eyes back to the Jounin beside me, "that a small force from Sound is approaching Konoha. It generally would not pose much of a threat, but we have very few available ninjas. I need to send you out, even though you are still in the end-stages of recovering from your fight with Itachi."

I turned my questioning eyes to Kakashi at Tsunade's words, but no one ventured to explain what she meant.

The Hokage continued speaking. "You'll have Gai and Shikamaru to accompany you under your command." At his nod of understanding, she looked to me. "I know that you are still realizing your old abilities, but I would like to send you out as well. Do your best to train hard and push yourself to your former level." I gave a nod of acceptance. "Kakashi, I'll let you be the judge if she is ready. I will send you out in two days' time with more specific details as to the Sound nins' location and movements."

Kakashi's eye widened at the short amount of time, but he gave a non-dissenting nod. "Well, sensei, I guess we gotta get back to work," he said, looking at me.

We stood and bowed to Tsunade then turned to leave.

"Kakashi-sensei," said a voice by the wall. It was Sakura; I had nearly forgotten she was there. "Good luck," she said, smiling to him.

He smiled back, gave his friendly one-handed wave, then walked out the door, followed closely by me.

We returned to the field where we had earlier been practicing. "No limits on jutsus this time," Kakashi said. "This is full-out training."

I nodded my understanding and immediately darted into the cover of the trees, climbing high up in their branches, inconspicuously laying traps as I moved. I focused my awareness and sensed Kakashi about fifty meters south of me and approaching quickly.

I whipped out a shuriken, knowing concealment was no longer an option and threw it expertly where I knew he was. I heard a log of wood drop to the ground – _Replication no Jutsu!_ I thought – just as I sensed his presence directly behind me. I ducked as his foot came swinging around in a sharp kick.

My body dropped gracefully to the ground and I threw a kunai up at him with precision, his frame jerking to the side to dodge it. His motion, however, triggered one of my traps and a dozen kunai came shooting out of the trees at him. I jumped back to avoid those that missed and saw him perform a second Replication Technique to escape the snare.

Before I had time to wonder where he was now, a huge fireball came whooshing through the trees directly towards me, setting to a blaze everything in its path. "Ice-Shield no Jutsu!" I shouted, concentrating my chakra, performing the hand seal and creating a thick wall of ice to stop the flames. It was a jutsu I had learned in my brief ventures in the Water Country.

I took off through the trees again, using the ice shield to buy time. I was suddenly brought up short by a kunai zipping past my face. My eyes darted to the left where I saw Kakashi through the branches, hurling another kunai directly at me. I jumped back to dodge it and then realized my mistake. His knife pushed me back against a tree in which he had already embedded a kunai with an explosive tag.

I pushed away from the tree with my arms to gain momentum, but it was not enough. I felt the air compress around me and then the temperature seemingly double as the explosion blasted my back.

I performed a hurried Replication Technique, but Kakashi was waiting for me as soon as I switched, a punch coming straight for my head. My hand whipped out a kunai from my pouch and brought it to Kakashi's side. I expected him to move out of the way and was stunned when the blade dug into his flesh.

However, a second later, I felt the cold steel of a kunai at my back and saw a puff of smoke in front of me, indicating the Kakashi I had seriously hurt had only been a Bunshin.

I quickly brought up my hands to form another seal for a powerfully overwhelming Genjutsu. Kakashi wavered long enough for me to hide myself again, setting traps, creating bunshins, and formulating plans, until I heard his strangled, "Dispel!"

I smirked as he came straight forward, directly into the optimal path for the traps I had laid, but then he did something that gave me pause. His left hand came up to push the Konoha forehead protector up, revealing the starkly arresting red Sharingan.

I winced, then shook my head to assure myself. _Just remember, he can't read my mind, no matter how much it seems like he can,_ I thought, recalling the few brief sparring sessions I'd had with various Uchiha clan members.

I had no time for anything else, for Kakashi was upon me, seemingly gliding through the traps without triggering them as if he were a ghost. I sent two of the bunshins I had earlier created to come Kakashi from either side, giving me time to escape. Though the Jounin could tell they were merely clones, the kunai coming for him were sharp enough, so he had no choice but to fight them first.

A short moment later, he was before me again, pulling out two large shuriken. I shook my head, determined to not see those weapons fly. "Body Freeze no Jutsu," I said, using the ANBU skill to render Kakashi immobile. I whipped out a smaller shuriken and shouted, "Shadow Shuriken!" as I threw it. Hundreds of new shurikens materialized with the jutsu and shot straight for the copy ninja.

I saw Kakashi's face contort in concentration, then he yelled, "Windmill Double Blade!" as he somehow broke the body freeze and hurled the two massive shuriken towards me, blasting the hundreds of smaller ones out of the way. I jumped up to dodge the shuriken, then gasped in shock as they zipped around back towards me again. _They're on chakra-controlled strings!_ I realized and performed an almost painful twist of my body to avoid them. Though the blades did not so much as graze me, the strings bound my body tightly, leaving me completely immobile.

Kakashi seemingly materialized directly in front of me. I expected to find a victorious smirk on his face, but instead, there was only fierce approval in both his eyes. "Good," he nodded. "Very good."

"How– how did you perform that move?" I asked as he began freeing me from the chakra-binding strings.

"It requires the use of a Sharingan," he answered, putting the shuriken away. He turned his mismatched eyes to look at me. "Well, let's take about a ten minute breather then get back to it."

I nodded and all but slumped against the tree trunk from which the branch I was standing grew. I had not realized while sparring how drained I was, but it likely had something to do with the fact that I had not been alive – or at least mobile – in twelve years, and certainly not fighting anyone as advanced, quick, and powerful as Kakashi.

The Jounin sat in front of me, pulling his forehead protector back down into place to cover the Sharingan. "Well, I can already tell you'll be fine to go on the mission with us, especially if you can last that long against me, even as out of practice as you are."

"Tsunade said you were just recovering, though," I said, frowning at him. "From a fight with Itachi, she said. Uchiha Itachi?" The boy had only been about four years old the last I remembered.

Kakashi sighed and nodded. "Yes. You will find no Uchiha in this village."

I gasped in surprise. "No Uchiha? What happened?" I demanded.

"Three or four years ago Uchiha Itachi went on a rampage of sorts," Kakashi said in a low and quiet voice. "He killed every member of the clan, including his parents. The only exception was his younger brother, Uchiha Sasuke."

I stared in horror and shock. "He… killed…" I could not even comprehend such an act. "But why? What happened? Where is his brother now?"

"It's a long story, and I don't understand or know it all, myself," the silver-haired man shook his head somberly. "His brother, Sasuke… he was one of my students." His voice lowered in volume and I found myself leaning forward to hear his words more clearly. "He is very talented, certainly a genius among the Uchiha Clan, just as Itachi. However, he is driven to seek revenge against his elder brother." I nodded in understanding.

Kakashi's visible eye clouded in pain. "In fact, he is so driven that he has left this village to gain enough power to conquer Itachi."

Suddenly, the information clicked into place and I let out a long breath of air. "He is with Orochimaru," I said in horrible understanding.

"Yes," Kakashi nodded, the pain-filled look still in his eye. After a long, tense moment, he cocked his head to the side and gave a bright smile, as if trying to erase the dull mood. "Well, we're burning daylight. You got me to talk more than ten minutes so you could rest, didn't you?" he said with what I assumed was a wink as he stood.

I felt the tension in the air dissipate immediately at his infectious smile. "I _am_ a sly one," I told him with a smile of my own, standing up.

"Let's see just how sly," he grinned and raced forward, a kunai already in each hand.

* * *

I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, trying not to groan at the pain in my limbs. It was thirty-three hours later and I was completely exhausted from two days of intense training and sparring with the renowned copy-ninja. Though his presence and company was one I was beginning to enjoy very much, I wanted nothing but to strangle him at the moment for making me so sore the night before an important mission.

_Oh well, it could be worse_. . .I thought with a smirk, remembering several times in the past when I had embarked upon training or missions after quite a late night.

_But still, he didn't have to go that far_. . . ". . . Kakashi," I growled, ending the thought aloud, punctuating it with the tossing of a pillow against the wall. I heard his startled snore in the next room and smiled in satisfaction. My eyes closed and I was asleep in seconds.

* * *

Yes, I am aware that I invented some jutsus. Sorry, all you hard-core-orthodoxers.

Thanks for the reviews, whiterose03, Virgil, and Dragon Sheinto! And I promise you it will get much more exciting soon. Egh… this is dragging out more than I expected. Sorry. At least it keeps the tension (and/or the lack of interest) high.

**whiterose03**: Yes, when the Kyuubi attacked, Keika was 25 years old. And by all means, keep your theories with Naruto and the Fourth. But I'll warn you, I'm trying to keep people guessing and on their toes.

**Virgil**: Well thank you! And on the Naruto's mother question… hmm, you'll see. But I am not writing a story that is just like everyone else's (I hope), so you'll have to keep reading to find out.

**Dragon Sheinto**: Thanks for the review. I'm hoping to make it more interesting presently. :D


	4. Chapter 4: Eternal Rival

Update: Just so you all know, I will be out of town with little to no access to a computer from March 6 - 11, 2005. Therefore, there will be no updates or posts during that time. Hopefully I'll be able to write a lot on the plane rides, though, and have something for you to read when I return. I'm sure you'll live in the meantime :)

Disclaimer: Of course Naruto is not mine. Otherwise I would have a lot more money. Magone Keika, however, is a character of my own creation.

* * *

Chapter 4: Eternal Rival

* * *

We sat in a circle on mossy logs, resting for the evening. The three Konoha ninjas and I had been traveling together, darting through the trees, for the past fourteen hours and now estimated that we were a day from the small group of Sound nins.

I looked around the circle. To my right was a young Chuunin named Shikamaru who was sitting with his head in his hands, his elbows on his knees, and a bored expression on his face. His eyes were raised to the treetops is if in contemplation and, in the past day we had spent together, I do not think I had heard him say more than twenty words.

Across the circle from me was Kakashi, his mask up, forehead protector down, and his back hunched. His visible eye indicated his agitated expression covered by the mask. He gave a slight sigh and pulled out an orange book from his pocket, his eye scanning the page intently, as if trying to escape reality.

And with good reason.

To Kakashi's right and my left was Maito Gai. The last I had seen him, he had been about fourteen years old, like Kakashi. However, he had not seemed to change much since then, _un_like Kakashi. I was continually wary of his bright grins, constant thumbs-ups, and random and unreasonable challenges.

Such as now.

"Kakashi, my eternal rival," he said with a flourish, breaking the tired silence with his seemingly inexhaustible voice, "have you seen my beloved student Lee lately? It is amazing how he as recovered from his surgery!" He looked to me and said in a confidential yet loud tone, "I doubt any of Kakashi's students could have done the same."

I said nothing but glanced at Kakashi, who still had not looked up from his book. Gai turned and watched at Kakashi expectantly. When the silver-haired man remained unmoving, Gai spoke in an even louder voice, repeating what he had said, "I doubt any of Kakashi's students could have done the same; you think so, Keika-san?" Though he addressed me, his eyes were fixed on the masked Jounin.

Kakashi finally glanced up from his book, his expression confused as he looked to Gai. "I'm sorry, did you say something?"

Gai cringed and made an anguished sound. "You have foiled me again with your hip attitude! What a worthy rival you are!"

Shikamaru heaved an exasperated sigh and Kakashi gave me a bland look, to which I chuckled amusedly, not knowing really how else to react to the situation and, especially, to Gai.

The same man was still babbling on and on. None of us paid him any mind until he announced that he would run a thousand laps in a large circle around the camp so that he would not be beaten by his rival again.

Kakashi's hand shot out and snagged Gai's sleeve as he stood. "Don't forget where we are or what we're doing," he said, his eyes now completely serious.

Gai opened his mouth, but none of us ever heard his response.

A shout of "Air Slicing Blast!" was heard and suddenly a terrible, invisible force hit us. Kakashi cursed and immediately disappeared into the trees. Gai, Shikamaru, and I crouched behind tree trunks to block ourselves from the air pressure created by the Sound nins.

I looked to my left and saw Shikamaru scramble up the tree that he had been using as a shield, a surly, annoyed look on his face. I glanced to my right at Gai and indicated with my head that we should follow the Chuunin.

There was another shout of "Air Slicing Blast" that did nothing to affect us since we were now off the ground. I did not presume we were out of the attack's range, but that the Sound nins did not know of our location.

Once we reached the branch, Shikamaru pointed where Kakashi had indicated we should go. Each of us took a tree surrounding the three Sound nins who were now visible on the ground below us.

Kakashi, several trees to my right, revealed his sharingan and pulled out two huge shuriken, saying quietly, "Windmill Double Blade." He threw the two shuriken straight down towards the ground and then, using the chakra-controlled strings to move the shuriken parallel to the ground and towards the three ninjas on the ground, attacked without giving away our location.

I watched as the ninja behind Kakashi's target raised his arms for another Air Slicing Blast, but then my eyes narrowed as he stopped moving altogether. I barely had time to notice that the man's shadow was seemingly tied to the tree in which Shikamaru was standing before I was distracted by Gai hurtling off his branch, down to the Sound nins below. At the same moment, my attention was diverted by a quick movement above me.

Blood sprayed as Kakashi's target was hit with one of the shuriken, unable to escape quickly enough. Gai landed a powerful kick on his opponent while Shikamaru's trapped victim gave an angry yell of frustration. "Stop hiding like rats, you Leaf filth!"

"I could say the same of you," I shouted with irritation, throwing a shuriken up towards where I had sensed movement earlier, creating the hand seals for the Shadow Shuriken no Jutsu. The air was suddenly thick with whirling blades and I was rewarded a moment later with a cry of pain from above me.

We continued fighting for several long minutes, continuously being ambushed by hidden ninjas just as we thought we had finally come to victory.

Kakashi, by now, was limping slightly and Gai, despite his ever-present grin, was sporting a bloody arm. Shikamaru was dangerously low on chakra and I had run out of kunai, shuriken, and exploding tags.

I was standing still a moment, catching my breath, when I sensed a presence behind me. I whirled just in time to be greeted by a fist swinging directly by my face. I brought my hand up to block the blow, but then my eyes widened in pain as I felt my balance become dangerously unstable and blood trickle out from my ear.

My opponent's fist drew back and swung towards me again. I threw up an arm to block it, but with my mind still reeling, I misjudged completely and felt it connect solidly with my left cheek.

I stumbled backwards and slipped off my branch, all the scenery rushing up past me as I fell. A voice dimly cried, "Keika!" _Who…? _I was unconscious before I ever hit the ground.

* * *

I am sorry this chapter is so much shorter than all my other ones. However, I wanted to post something before going out of town for spring break. Sorry, the next one will be back to normal length, I promise.

Thanks for the review, whiterose03. However, I think I'm losing people's interest in this story, not that there was really all that much to begin with. Hopefully more fights like the one in the last chapter and this one will encourage people to read it. Perhaps it got to too slow a start. Oh well, encourage your friends to give it a shot! Tell them it will definitely become more and more engaging as it goes. Haha, I hope so, anyway!


	5. Chapter 5: Broken Voices

Update: Oh wow, you guys, I had the best time on spring break, I went to California (for the first time ever) with my suitemate. Wow, it was fun! Anyway, now I'm back at school, which is bad for me because of all the work, but good for you all because of my updates. Whohoo! Just to warn you, I have 3 major essays due within the next week and a half so my next update might be a tad slow. Sorry.

Disclaimer: Of course Naruto is not mine. Otherwise I would have a lot more money. Magone Keika, however, is a character of my own creation.

* * *

Chapter 5: Broken Voices

"When . . . hit the ground . . . like that . . . dead . . . ."

I heard only broken pieces of voices above me. A male was speaking, but I could not see who.

"Did . . . make a mistake . . . ?" A new voice, this one female.

I slowly opened my eyes and blinked several times before my vision cleared. A flash of blue and green, and then silver. "Oh, you're awake!" Suddenly the slightly blurred visage of Kakashi was directly above me, causing my body to jerk in startled surprise. I felt his hand come to my shoulder, soothing me. "Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you," he said in a quieter voice, his visible eye fixed on me. "I've just been a bit worried; that was some fall you took."

I closed my eyes, remembering. Then I opened them again and sat up slightly. "What happened after that? Where am I?" I asked as I felt his hand come to my back to support me.

"Keika, you should rest." I looked to the second voice: Tsunade. She gave me a small smile. "We'll answer your questions when you're feeling well again." She nodded to Kakashi and then walked out of my line of vision. A moment later, I heard the door close.

I let my eyelids grow heavy and slumped against Kakashi's hand.

"To answer your first question," his low voice said quietly, "you're in the hospital. Are you in much pain?"

I opened my eyes, finding that my vision was almost back to normal. "No," I shook my head, looking towards him. "None at all."

His eye widened , narrowed, and then returned to normal. "Surely you must be tired, though."

"Not especially," I shook my head again.

He frowned. "I think you should rest, anyway." He let me back down against the bed, taking his hand from my back. "You've been through too much to recover this quickly."

I sighed and nodded. "Fine." I closed my eyes and, despite myself, was asleep in just a few minutes.

* * *

I woke again about a day later. The first thing I saw this time, the same as the last, was Kakashi's face. However he was not now watching me concernedly but instead was leaning against the wall, sprawled in a chair, asleep. I could see his mouth hanging open slightly behind his mask.

My own mouth curved up in a smile to see him in such a position. I slowly pushed myself up to sitting, my gaze lingering for a long moment on the silver-haired Jounin. I finally turned my eyes to survey the stark white hospital room. I pushed back the starched sheets and stood, my toes curling slightly at the cold tile floor.

I picked up my shinobi clothing sitting on a chair by the bed and walked to the bathroom where I stripped off the stiff white hospital linens and changed into my own clothes. By the time I came back into the room, Kakashi was sitting attentively – though slouched, as usual – on the chair, his visible eye on me, his elbows resting on his knees.

"Yo."

I smiled and discarded the hospital clothing onto the bed. "Hi."

"How are you feeling?" he asked, his eye still glued onto me.

"Same as ever," I replied, sitting on the edge of the bed and facing him. "So can I go home now?"

"To _my_ home?" I could tell he was grinning under his mask, but it did not stop me from blushing in slight shame.

"Well, I guess so," I said, trying to push back the heat in my cheeks.

Thankfully, Kakashi dropped the matter. "Okay then, let's go," he said, climbing to his feet and striding to the door. I stood from the bed and followed him to the hospital front desk where the receptionist reported that I was free to leave. We nodded our thanks and made our way back to Kakashi's small house.

I had scarcely sat down, however, when there was a knock at the door. It was the young pink-haired ninja again; I thought I remembered her name being Sakura.

"Kakashi-sensei," she said happily as he opened the door for her.

"Hello, Sakura," he smiled down at her. "What brings you here? I didn't know you knew where my house was."

"Trying to keep secrets again?" the girl laughed. "No, actually Tsunade-sama told me. She wants to see you again in her office." Her bright green eyes flicked to me a moment before returning to her teacher.

"Of course. Thank you," Kakashi nodded and looked to me, his hand coming up to scratch the back of his head slightly sheepishly. "Well… I know you just sat down, but we had better go, Keika-sensei."

"Sensei?" Sakura repeated, confused, as I stood and nodded to Kakashi, walking towards him.

"Just another secret, Sakura," the silver-haired Jounin winked to the girl as he and I passed her. "Be sure the close the door on your way out," he called back to her, raising a hand briefly in a departing wave.

I saw out of the corner of my eye her jaw hanging open as we continued walking away from the small house and towards the Hokage's office.

There was much bustle and activity as we walked through the hallways, avoiding jostling men and women laden with huge stacks of papers moving quickly along. Kakashi and I finally reached the large doors of the Hokage office and pushed them open after knocking briefly.

Tsunade hurriedly pushed the papers on her desk aside and beckoned for Kakashi and me to sit opposite her. We did so, mirror frowns on our faces at all the activity in the building.

"Sorry," Tsunade apologized, noting our expressions. "There is a lot of paperwork being done at the moment. Now, Kakashi, I—"

She was interrupted by the door opening and an attendant hurrying over to the desk and setting down a tall stack of papers. The top few sheets fell off as the attendant hurried and I bent over to pick them up for him. I frowned as I saw my name at the top of the first page. The paper was snatched immediately from my hand and pushed roughly out of my sight by theattendant who immediately left the office again.

Tsunade's eyes were watching me as I sat back up in my seat, my confusion and curiosity evident in my expression.

Her eyes flicked back to the man beside me when she saw me looking at her and she resumed speaking. "Kakashi, I need to get a report on—"

She was cut off again, but this time by me. "Tsunade, what isthat paper? I saw my name written on it."

"Don't interrupt the Hokage," she grated, her eyes flashing in irritation. "Kakshi. Give me—"

"No, Tsunade-sama, I saw the paper too," Kakashi interjected, completely ignoring her last order. He also disregarded her angry, red face as hecontinued speaking. "I'm just as curious as Keika; what have you been keeping from both of us? I won't give a report until you tell us. She, at least, has a right to know, don't you think?"

Tsunade fumed for several moments, then she sighed in defeat. "Fine." Her intelligent brown eyes flicked to me. "Keika, there is something very… different about you. No one should have been able to survive that fall of over sixty feet."

I shivered slightly and looked at Kakashi in confusion. "But I thought surely you or Gai or Shikamaru caught me or… or something."

Kakashi slowly shook his head. "No. None of us could get there in time to catch you. I saw you fall. It was… it was pretty rough, Sensei."

I was about to make another suggestion as to how I survived but Tsunade had begun speaking again. I closed my mouth and turned my attention back to her.

"We looked into all sorts of possibilities, Keika, but the fact remains that you should not have survived. And even if you had by some miracle, you certainly would not be in the condition you are in now. You would most likely be paralyzed." I suppressed a second shiver at her words as I continued listening.

"Of course this is not the first time you have escaped death. We all thought you were in your grave until just over a week ago," Tsunade said to me. "After a long search through some tedious paperwork, we found a journal entry from one of our ninjas from the day you were thought to have died. He reported seeing the mutilated body of a Jounin woman. She was unrecognizable, so badly was her body destroyed, but she had an ANBU tattoo on her arm, black hair, and a photograph in her hand. The picture was of—"

"—Yondaime," I finished for her, my voice soft in awe. How _had_ I survived if that is how I looked? It was undeniably me from the description. There had been no other former ANBU Jounin females with black hair, and certainly none carrying around photographs of Yondaime in their breast pockets. I imagined I had taken it out to look at as I had fainted or… or whatever had happened. But how was it possible that I was alive after being in that kind of state?

I glanced at Kakashi. What I could see of his face was white; his mind, too, was reeling from the mental image of my body, I supposed. I put a hand on his shoulder then let it drop just as his eye turned to look at me. "Whose journal was this?" I asked the Hokage.

"It belonged to Chuunin Matsuo Kazuma," she answered.

I shook my head. "I have never heard of him."

Tsunade nodded. "Further proving that it was truly you he saw. There were no medical records of such a person being taken in to the hospital, not even on the field. Keika, you were dead, not just disappeared or vanished," she said flatly.

"But that's impossible," I protested, running a hand through my hair.

"So I thought as well," Tsunade said with a nod, "until a very astute student of mine—" her eyes flicked momentarily to Kakashi "—yesterday discovered some very old records from the first days of this village that spoke of a legendary ninja who was able to survive even death, only truly fading into that unknown country when his natural lifespan was over." Both Kakashi and my eyes narrowed as we listened.

"We have performed extensive research while you recovered from your fall, Keika, and while you dutifully stayed by her bedside, Kakashi. We have determined that not only was this man real, but we also discovered his identity. He is your great-great grandfather, Keika."

"I… I don't understand," I said, my voice faint in my ears.

"He passed his extremely rare bloodline limit down to you," Tsunade told me in a voice even softer than my own.

Kakashi was shaking his head in confusion and amazement. "What bloodline limit? I've never heard of anything like that at all," he protested.

"It is the Fenikkusu bloodline limit," Tsunade said, ignoring Kakashi. "It is a form of ninjutsu inherent within your body that will recover any lost cells and heal you completely from any harm until you die a natural death at old age. Though it sometimes takes even decades for one with this bloodline limit to recover, as youexperienced from your twelve yearrehabilitation after your fight with the Kyuubi, your body will nonetheless always heal itself from any kind of injury."

I stared at Tsunade, stunned into silence, my jaw hanging open.

"How—how do you know all this?" Kakashi spluttered.

"I'm the Hokage," she said, smiling enigmatically, her serious tone from just a moment before completely discarded.

I was still gaping, and now Kakashi had joined me in my dumbfounded expression.

"Come on, now, I have work to do. You should both get out of here and get some rest. Kakashi, please fill out that report and have it sent to me by tomorrow evening," Tsunade said, gesturing for us to stand. We did so mechanically. "And none of your usual tardiness," the Hokage added, eyeballing the Jounin man.

He sighed, coming out of his stupor, and nodded. "Yeah, alright. Come on, Keika." He took my arm and drew me away from the office, my feet carrying me seemingly on their own volition. I closed my eyes and allowed Kakashi's strong arm to guide me back to the home we shared.

* * *

One note on the text: "Fenikkusu" means "Phoenix" in Japanese. I'm sure you understand the relation.

Thanks for the reviews, whiterose03, Kimiko, Loki-nin, and Biohazard-Bunny!

**whiterose03:** Haha well thanks, I'm glad I can always count on you. You rock! Yeah, I realize the chapters are quite short, and I'm sorry about that. The fourth one was especially so because I wanted to post something before I went out of town and didn't have time to make it any longer. But the main reason they're short is so I can update more often. So hopefully that makes up for it :)

**Kimiko: **Ahhhh I'm so glad you like it! And I'm glad I've got your interest in Kakashi now, haha. I'm hardly a fangirl, but when it comes to Kakashi and Spike Spiegel, I start drooling. I'm glad I've dragged others to my side ;) Thanks for the support, you're great.

**Loki-nin: **Thanks for reading! I know, the battles are kinda short and at times not descriptive, but I'm just afraid I might not be able to write them out in detail without making them boring or repetitive. But I'll do my best to take your advice, thanks! This is a learning process for me, after all. I'm glad you at least mostly approve of the way I'm dealing with the characters. I will do my best to make Gai less dorky; I have immense respect for him as a fighter and shinobi, so I certainly don't want to make it seem like I'm giving him the short end of the stick. Anyway, thanks for the feedback!

**Biohazard-Bunny:** Of course I remember you :D Thanks for checking out my story, I'm glad you like it. I'll try to keep the interesting-ness coming. Sorry this one was actionless, but maybe it was interesting enough.


	6. Chapter 6: Memories

Note: Sorry it has been over a month since I have updated, but college is time consuming (surprise!). Anyway, there is not too much action in this chapter, but it does divulge some nice secrets, such as who Keika is and how she is related to Yondaime. I hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: _Naruto_ is, in no way, mine. Unfortunately.

Chapter 6: Memories

It was as if Tsunade's revelation had been the pulling of a trigger. Not of a rifle or a pistol, but rather of a machine gun. Memories of the time just before I had fallen into my twelve years of unconsciousness were returning to me with ever increasing rapidity.

The Kyuubi had been roaming nearly unchecked for two weeks by the time Yondaime was able to quell the fears of the Konoha residents – especially of the non-ninjas – enough to speak rationally with them and show them his plan. In these two weeks, fourteen adults and eight children had been listed as missing; nearly half as many more had been confirmed dead. We'd had so many requests to act as bodyguards there were no ninjas left to complete the Level A missions.

Yondaime had given a moving speech to the whole of Konoha, speaking of his terrible grief for our losses, but also his determination to eradicate this threat to protect the village and the country as well.

He gave a separate speech to the ninja population of Konoha, encouraging all of us to contribute to the city's safety by fighting.

A third speech was given to all Jounin, informing us that our non-participation or failure were simply not options.

The first huge raid on the Kyuubi occurred one day later. We sustained losses, but they were nothing compared to the fallowing night when the demon plundered the village, seemingly unfazed and unhurt by any of our actions or attacks. Among the dead after that dark evening was Yondaime's young wife, my sister.

She had just given birth to a beautiful baby with hair as brilliantly golden as his father's and eyes as strikingly blue as his mother's.

Yondaime and I had mourned together. Suddenly, we were the only family the other had besides the bright-eyed, innocent Naruto.

All grieving was cut short, however, as another series of attacks on the Kyuubi were planned. Yondaime confided in me that he had an attack that was sure to be successful, but it was only to be used as a last resort. He would tell me nothing more whatsoever of his mysterious plan.

It was during these attacks that we came to realize that the Kyuubi was recovering far too quickly from the wounds we afflicted. Just an hour after it had been bleeding profusely, the wound would be completely healed.

The revelation of the Kyuubi's quick physical recovery coupled with the grave injuries of fifty more ninjas forced Yondaime to reconsider his plan.

He gathered every uninjured ninja of any ability and level for a meeting, his face a gray and somber mask compared with the expression he had worn in the previous conference. Now he was even more determined than before. The death of his wife and the pseudo-invincibility of our opponent had pushed him to become the grave, unsmiling man, so different from the Yondaime I had known. He stood before the quiet and uncomfortably shifting crowd, speaking in a low and serious voice.

"We are facing what seems an undefeatable foe. We have lost many of our kin and comrades. It is time to put an end to this crisis. I have a jutsu I know will be successful and I beg you to forgive me from now using it before when, perhaps, your loved ones could have been spared, but I believe you will soon understand my reason for waiting this long. My jutsu will take me some time to prepare, and so I request volunteers for a diversionary unit to distract the Kyuubi until I can enact my plan. Are there any of you who are willing to assist me?"

All hands were raised and a mix of relief and regret flashed upon the Fourth Hokage's face. He nodded his solemn thanks and began to give instructions as to how everyone was to enact his plan.

After the meeting, I walked home a friend who was grieving the loss of her genin son. We stayed together and spoke for over an hour before I dismissed myself in order to gain restful sleep for the next day's battle, the one Yondaime had assured us would end the war for good.

I decided to stop by his house on the way to my own to offer my wishes of good luck for the next day. I was surprised when the Third, Sandaime, emerged from the house when I reached the doorstep instead of my brother-in-law. The older man gave me a respectful bow which I returned and he went on his way without a single word of greeting or farewell.

I stared after him in confusion but was brought back to my senses by Yondaime's gentle voice. "Keika. Come on inside."

I turned my head to him and nodded, stepping inside the house. We endured some idle talk about what I cannot remember – not due to my loss of memory but simply because it was so meaningless that I forgot it just after saying it – until Naruto made a plaintive cry for his father from his crib in the next room. Yondaime excused himself to tend to his son, leaving me by myself.

I walked to the shelf, my eyes traveling over the framed photos placed there. There was my sister and me as children, next a young Yondaime proudly wearing his newly earned Chuunin vest, then a picture taken at his and my sister's wedding. Last was a recent family portrait of two joyful parents holding between them a squirming and giggling blond infant.

I must have been more immersed in my study of these images than I knew because suddenly and before I had ever heard him coming, Yondaime was behind me, his hand on my shoulder.

"Keika," he said in his quiet, low voice that had been subdued ever since the death of my sister, his wife. I turned to face him, finding in that moment from the look in his eyes the unquestionable truth that we would never see each other on this world again, that one or both of us would positively and without a doubt die the next day. I cannot explain the source of this knowledge, just that it was the most certain thing I had ever known.

"Here," he said, speaking in that same voice, extending his other hand to me. In it was a thin plate of metal perhaps three by five inches. I took it mechanically, shaken out of my promotion by my curiosity. I discovered, through my inspection, that it was actually two chrome plates secured together, a thin slit between them. I was turning the metal case over to see its contents when Yondaime gently put his hand over mine, stopping me. "I do not want to know what is inside," he said softly. "It was your sister's. She always wore it under her outer layer of clothing, even before we were married. Clearly it meant much to her. It was of the time when I could lay no claim to her at all, though you could, so it is more yours than it is mine. I want you to have it."

I nodded, blinking a few times to stay my tears. "Thank you," I said quietly, tucking the case into my pocket and taking my brother-in-law's hands into my own. "Good luck tomorrow. Please be careful." _Let me be the one to die between us,_ I thought. _Naruto needs you._

He nodded, unknowingly disregarding my unspoken request. "Get your rest. Take care." He squeezed my hands gently, then let me go. I walked home quickly, though it seemed like an age. When I reached my quiet, dark house, I sat on my bed and pulled out my sister's case. I turned it over, extracting a glossy piece if paper: it was an old photograph of a young teenage Yondaime. It brought to my mind a giggle-filled conversation my sister and I had had seven years ago when she confessed to me her desire to have this young, handsome ninja notice her. She must have carried this photograph with her ever since then.

I sighed sadly and tucked the photograph back into the case and then slipped it under my outer layer of clothes, just as my sister had. As it had shown her love for Yondaime, so it would now show my hopes for his and his son's survival through the coming day, even if it meant my own death.

In the end, it cost us all three of us our lives, metaphorically. It snatched twelve years from my life and time, took away the respect Naruto should have had in the village as the son of a Hokage and a talented ninja in his own right, and, the worst tragedy of all, stole all of Yondaime's life and soul for all eternity, denying him even the ability to rest with my sister in peace in whatever afterlife there might be.

Thanks for the reviews, those loyal few of you.

**whiterose03**: haha, so much for updating soon. Sorry about that, you would not believe the number of books I have had to read, essays I have had to write, and tests I have had to take in the past month. I should be back to a normal schedule soon.

**Loki-nin**: Yay, thanks! I'm glad you like the bloodline limit. I'm also glad you like the characterization of Kakashi. Sadly, no silver-haired jounin in this chapter, but he will definately be back in the next one, so more lazy pervertedness coming right up.

**FireDragonBL**: Well, just as Sakura might say "Kurenia-sensei" or Hinata might say "Asumi-sensei," Kakashi calls Keika his sensei. Though she was not his one single teacher as Yondaime was, she was still a Jounin teacher and a close friend of Yondaime's, so... thus the "Keika-sensei" mess. Thanks for asking, though, means you were paying attention. ;)


	7. Chapter 7: Impending Danger

Chapter 7: Impending Danger

* * *

"Chicken or beef?"

I barely heard the question as I bent my head in concentration. _Dog, rat, snake… then what? That jutsu was always more trouble than it was worth: too many hand seals. I just wish I could remember their order, _I thought to myself.

"I said, chicken or beef?"

_Wait, I think it was rat and then dog, yeah that makes sense,_ I continued mulling over the jutsu, nodding my head absently to myself.

"Hello! You deaf or somethin' lady?"

I jumped, startled at the shout, and nearly fell off my barstool. A large hand came to my back to steady me and I looked to see its owner, Kakashi, smirking. "Maybe you should give him your ramen order; I think he's cranky," he suggested in a lazy drawl.

I growled in irritation at having my thoughts disrupted, then nodded. "Chicken."

The waiter gave a sarcastic bow, scribbled on his pad and walked away to prepare our meal.

"You take naps in the strangest places, Keika-sensei," Kakashi teased me, then turned serious. "You not getting enough sleep?"

"No, I'm fine, I was just trying to remember a jutsu," I told him with a reassuring smile. I shifted my back slightly, realizing his hand was still there.

He withdrew his hand immediately as I shifted, looking embarrassed that he had forgotten but trying to hide it with a sudden interest in the wall hanging on his other side.

I chuckled silently but my amusement was brought up short by the large bowl of steaming ramen the irritated waiter pushed to me. Kakashi grinned, turning forward again, as he received his own bowl.

I snapped my wooden chopsticks apart, smiled cheerfully to Kakashi and began eating. A few moments later I came up for air and looked to my companion, hoping to sneak a glance at his unmasked face. However, he had already completely finished his meal and was putting his napkin back on the table, his dark mask firmly in place, as I turned to him.

"Don't eat so quickly; you'll get a stomachache," I scolded him.

He rolled his visible eye. "Yes, mother."

I continued, ignoring his comment. "And then what fun will sparring with you be?"

He considered that a moment then shrugged. "Guess that's true." He leaned back as much as the barstool allowed, watching me with his one dark eye. "So you gonna finish that?"

I smirked and looked back at my ramen. "I'll let you finish it if you let me watch," I said, hoping to bribe him with food.

"You'd better eat it all, after all that," the waiter interrupted with a growl directed at me.

Kakashi laughed briefly then shrugged. "Besides, I'm full, I already finished my meal. All yours, Keika-sensei."

I sighed in irritation and picked up my chopsticks again.

* * *

I had not told Kakashi any of my new memories from my twelve-year-gone past, or even that I had regained them, yet he seemed to know instinctively that something was bothering me. Of course, being Kakashi, he said nothing of it. And, frankly, it was a relief to know I could continue living in this new life of mine without anyone trying to pry into something painful, dark, and secret. The silver-haired jounin, despite his masked face, was a comfortable and comforting presence.

However, both of us were irritated at the moment.

"I mean, I was just sayin', it's been a while. Not that we don't want ya, you're more than welcome to come stay at my place, Keika."

I ignored the leering Genma and glanced at Kakashi to have something else to look at besides that stupid senbon bobbing up and down.

"Genma, I think we're fine. She just needs a place to stay for a time being. Besides, the Hokage chose me to train her," Kakashi said slightly wearily. We had had a long day of sparring and neither of us were in the mood for fending off Genma who, at any other time, likely would not have annoyed us.

"Yeah, well you train her right," Genma smirked. Sensing our irritation, he gave a friendly wave and turned to go the way he had been going when we met him in the street.

Kakashi gave a barely audible sigh and began walking again, giving me a sidelong glance to make sure I was following.

I knew that what Genma had said was true: it _had_ been a long time. I had lived in Kakashi's home for over a month now. Of course there was the easy excuse that I did not yet have enough money to move into my own apartment, but that was not entirely valid since I had received payment and compensation from the B-ranked mission on which Kakashi, Gai, Shikamaru, and I had been sent. There was the other excuse that the house had previously been my own, but it had been so long that few besides me even remembered that fact.

But for whatever reason, I still had not moved out of Kakashi's home. Whether for the comfort or convenience or some other reason I did not know, but I was living there nonetheless. I had not offered him pay or any kind of cleaning service in return. I was undeniably mooching.

Both Kakashi and I knew it, but he did not seem to mind.

I sighed, preparing to bring up the matter with him, but I was spared of having to do this by the pink-haired Sakura running towards us.

"Kakashi-sensei!" she called even though she was still quite far away. Kakashi and I immediately ran towards her as well, sensing her anxiety already. "Kakashi-sensei," she repeated, slightly out of breath as we reached each other, "Tsunade-sama wants to see you and Keika. It's urgent, she says."

Kakashi and I glanced at each other and then took off running again towards the Hokage's office, Sakura hurrying behind us. Once we reached the building, we were ushered into the room by several anxious-looking assistants.

Instead of finding only Tsunade in the room, there was a range of ninjas, some of whom I knew, some I did not. Gai, nearest to us, turned to look as we entered. He gave Kakashi and me a short nod, then looked back to the front.

"Is everyone here? Good," Tsunade said without waiting for an answer. "The Sound nins have begun to move again. I fear they will be making a large attack soon. Orochimaru is continually gaining supporters, as you know, and his numbers have been dramatically increasing of late. Even if we cannot stop him this time, at least we can bring down some of his men. I will divide you into three squads: one is the main attack group, the second for backup, and the last to remain in Konoha as a final defense. Any ninja, from Chuunin to ANBU, will be involved in this mission, so if you see that anyone is missing, please inform them immediately of what I have said. I have posted the lists here. Please file through quickly; this mission will begin tomorrow."

There was a quiet shuffle to reach the lists and, from my right, I heard an irritated sigh. "How troublesome…" Shikamaru was frowning ill-naturedly at nothing in particular. Silently, I agreed with the young Chuunin. Konoha was not ready for a large-scale attack, especially not from the unpredictable Sound nins.

Before long we had reached the lists posted on the wall. Neither Kakashi nor I were surprised to find our names included in the first squad, though I did raise an eyebrow at seeing that our names were both also under the ANBU rank rather than Jounin. _The threat must be worse than I imagined,_ I supposed, still staring at the list.

A rather loud voice interrupted my thoughts. "Fighting alongside my eternal rival, I see!"

Kakashi turned his head slowly towards Gai. "Hmm?" he asked lazily.

Gai clenched his fist and growled in irritation at being foiled again.

"Kakashi-sensei?" This time it was Sakura; I had not realized she was still with us.

Kakashi turned to her and nodded. The "Hmm?" directed at her was significantly less apathetic than the one he had given to Gai.

"Who is Ibiki?" the pink-haired girl asked.

"He was in charge of the written Chuunin exam from a year or so ago, remember?" he asked her, the expression on his what one could see of his face showing his disbelief that she could ever forget such a man. Sakura's eyes widened, then returned to normal, indicating that she had, in fact, remembered at her teacher's prompting. "Why do you ask?" Kakashi wondered aloud.

"He's in charge of the Chuunin in my squad," the girl answered.

Kakashi's visible eye widened and, in a jerky move uncharacteristic of the silver-haired man, he lurched towards Tsunade with a worried expression. "You're sending Sakura out?" he demanded.

"She is a Chuunin, or did you forget? Also, she is my student, so she is more than prepared," Tsunade said, looking up at him, completely unruffled.

Kakashi shook his head. "But she—"

"She is also your student; are you saying you're an incompetent enough of a teacher that she is unable to contribute to this war?" Tsunade interrupted. "Besides, she is a medical nin in the second squad. She will not see any fighting."

Kakashi did not look convinced, but he conceded with a nod and turned away, back to me. "Let's go. We've got our assignment and we need to get some sleep," he said.

I nodded in agreement and followed him out of the Hokage's office and towards the home that we still shared.

* * *

Thanks for the reviews. Here are my excuses for taking SO long to update: I had to drive halfway across the country to get home from school, I did not have internet access on this computer until very recently, and I have been working full time which prevents me from doing much writing. With the exception of the last, though, I should be able to get back into it now.

**whiterose03:** Thank you for being so loyal with your reviews. I'm glad you liked the last chapter.

**elvenprincess: **Thank you. I will do my best to update more regularly than I have been.

**crazy-antman:** Yeah, it was a sad chapter, but hopefully things will pick up again soon with the big fight coming.

**SkyBlueSunShine:** Thanks. I appreciate the commentary :) I'll try to keep updating. And things should start looking up somewhat soon.

**SaitouuRyuuji:** Thanks. It's half of my life goal, to become a writer. The other half is to be an English Professor. But they go pretty much hand in hand, I'd say. So hopefully writing this fic will help overall and keep me on that path.

**Runiz:** Thanks for the praise. If that's the way it happened with Naruto and all, I didn't know. I guess that's just my ignorance. But yes, I have to say it does present some amount of solace for the Uzumaki family to be together for a short time.

**Concetta:** Thanks. Yeah it took me a while to come up with the bloodline limit. Nothing else really would explain it, though, so I think it worked out alright. Sorry, I don't know your friend at Rice. I'm a freshman too, though. Do you know what College she is in? I'll try to keep an eye out for her in the fall.

**FICC:** Thanks. Will do my best.


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